The Coppola Smart Mob

Published: August 31, 2003

(Page 8 of 8)

Cassavetes, who says she hopes to direct her first film this fall, sat down. She has a distinctive face that would work perfectly in an Italian movie from the 60's, and she was wearing a short skirt. ''I'm very, very protective of Sofia,'' she continued, as Kate Moss and her makeup artist emerged from the sound stage. ''She inspires that. You want to protect her. She sees the world a certain way, and I don't want the world to let her down.''

Cassavetes lighted a cigarette. ''What lovely sandwiches,'' Kate Moss said. Sofia smiled. Moss had changed into jeans and a loose chiffon top. She showed Coppola, who sat down across from Cassavetes, some photos of her 10-month-old baby girl. ''She looks like her father,'' Moss said. The father is Jefferson Hack, the London-based editor of Dazed and Confused, a hipster magazine. Sofia has worked for the magazine; two weeks ago, she sent Hack a photo she took of Kirsten Dunst at the Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum. Coppola's date that night was Marc Jacobs. As usual, the dots connect in a particularly spectacular way.

Jack White, who was dressed all in black except for a white splint that protected a broken finger, sat at the end of the table. Earlier, Sofia asked his partner, Meg White, who, like her bandmate, sticks at all times to the White Stripes' color scheme -- black, white and red clothing -- if she had seen the Elizabeth Peyton portrait of Meg. Sofia asked this sweetly, but as her worlds usually collide, she fully expected Meg White to know Elizabeth Peyton's work. ''It's such a good painting, and she didn't even know about it,'' Sofia said, somewhat incredulous. ''I will have to send you a print of it, or something,'' she said to Jack White. He nodded and reached for a sandwich. ''We'll get Meg up on the pole after lunch,'' he said.

Moss and Cassavetes both lighted another cigarette. ''I just started smoking again,'' Cassavetes said. The conversation turned to cigarettes in movies. ''No one ever looked cooler smoking than my dad,'' Cassavetes said. Moss agreed. ''Your dad was really cool,'' she said. It's a striking moment: a rock star, the top fashion model in the world and the children of two men who changed modern cinema were chatting over tea sandwiches. The quietest one at the table was Sofia, and yet, she was the motor that powered this scene. She looked serene, contemplative. ''My dad always said,'' Cassavetes continued, ''to do one creative thing every day. Whatever it is.'' Moss dragged on her cigarette. ''I think Sofia grew up with the same imperative.'' Sofia smiled. It was time to get back to work.

Lynn Hirschberg, a contributing writer for the magazine, has written numerous profiles of film directors.